Recent mobile terminals, such as smartphones, have a communication unit that connects to cellular networks in conformity with such telecommunication standards as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and 3rd Generation (3G), and a communication unit that connects to wireless local area networks (LANs) based on Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) and other technologies.
Under the communication environment connectable to both the cellular networks and the wireless LANs, the mobile terminals generally connect to the wireless LANs with higher priority. When the mobile terminals are out of wireless LAN service range, access to the wireless LANs is switched to access to the cellular networks to perform communication. Thus, the mobile terminals perform communication by automatically switching the network to be used.
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2002-335278
Patent Literature 2: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2008-136150
Patent Literature 3: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2011-166251
However, in conventional technology, communication interruption temporarily occurs at the time of switching the network to be used. In the case where a cellular network is automatically switched to a Wi-Fi network, a throughput deteriorates when the Wi-Fi network is crowded, and/or when a distance to an access point is long. Thus, automatic switchover of the network in the conventional technology is not necessarily convenient for users.